


Ray of Sunshine

by Aspiring_TrashPanda



Category: One Piece
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Bartender Zoro, Caring Roronoa Zoro, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Medication, Mental Health Issues, angst in part 2, small cameos
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-14
Updated: 2020-12-14
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:54:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,491
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28073532
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aspiring_TrashPanda/pseuds/Aspiring_TrashPanda
Summary: There's something about him, and it draws Zoro in.  Perhaps it's his smile, or the way his eyes sparkle when he laughs.Whatever it is, he's happy he met the human embodiment of the sun.1st part fluff, 2nd part angst AND fluff :)
Relationships: Monkey D. Luffy/Roronoa Zoro
Comments: 6
Kudos: 60





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Just a little ficlet, in two parts.

“Hi, I’m Luffy!”

  
His eyebrow twitched, the slightest indication that he had heard the boy who had saddled up to the bar. He made no attempt to greet the stranger – Wait, scratch that – the _kid_ , who didn’t even look like he was legal drinking age. Perhaps if he simply took his sweet time making his way to where he had plopped himself down, at the other side of the counter, he would get tired of waiting and leave. 

  
That would make his life easier.

  
“What’s your name?”

  
The bartender, a young man with an athletic build that was only emphasized by his broad shoulders and muscular arms, remained silent as he placed all of the used cups into the glass washer. He stood in front of the machine, arms folded over his chest and a scowl painted across his face, as he waited for every single glass to be cleaned. It took approximately ninety seconds. Something like that. He got lost around second 43. He then proceeded to remove the cups, polish the ones deemed fancy for a sleazy bar, and put them away.

  
When he turned back towards his empty bar top, it wasn’t empty. 

  
The kid was still there. 

  
He wore a red hoodie, with a yellow baseball cap pulled snugly over his shaggy black hair, brim turned towards the hood of his sweater. The fabric of the hat was frayed and stained with dirt in various places, as if it had been around for decades and passed down to him. He was rather small for someone posing as a young adult, shorter than average and quite slim. He seemed completely at ease, a pleasant smile on his face that radiated a certain confidence, as if he knew he was going to get served. 

  
The bartender stifled a snort of amusement. The kid’s feet didn’t even reach the floor, for god’s sake. He was literally sitting there, kicking his flip flops against the side of the bar, and smiling at a complete stranger in a greasy dive bar like he wasn’t out of place.

  
“Oi, you got any I.D.?” The bartender grumbled, finally making his way over to his – most likely underage – customer. 

  
The kid presented his identification at the speed of light, shooting the bartender a sunny smile that made his eyes squint so much, they disappeared. 

  
He was 19. Newly 19, at that. Damn, he was awfully lucky that he met the legal drinking age of Toronto. 

  
“Happy birthday, kid,” The bartender grunted, handing back the piece of plastic.

  
“I’m not a kid!” The smile faltered, replaced by an indignant frown, “You’re like, what, two years older than me?”

  
“Fair ‘nough, what should I call you then?” The bartender made sure to sound entirely disinterested in the conversation. The last thing he wanted was for this brat to get wasted off of one wine cooler and start reminiscing about his one true love, his high school crush who got away, to the ‘nice’ man behind the bar. Typically, if he was brusque enough, nobody bothered him.

  
“I already told you,” The boy snickered, “I’m Luffy.”

  
“Zoro,” The bartender nodded curtly, “What can I get you, Luffy?”

  
“Your cheapest beer, and a menu!” Luffy chirped.

  
A glass, wet with condensation, was placed in front of him, along with a laminated sheet that was decorated with oily fingerprints. The kid took a brief look at his options, before licking his lips and staring at the man behind the counter with big, brown eyes. He resembled a puppy that was begging for a juicy steak.

  
“You eatin’?” 

  
Luffy eyed the menu once more, a slight hint of pink creeping across his skin. “I don’t have enough money,” He admitted bashfully.  
Another twitch of the eyebrow. 

  
“You have enough for a beer, but not enough for a $5 burger?”

  
“I don’t have enough for the beer, either,” Shrugging, the kid took a gulp of the amber liquid in front of him. As he returned the glass to the counter, he wrinkled his nose and stuck his tongue out, “Blah.”

  
Zoro blinked.

  
“So,” He stared at his guest, speaking in a level voice, “You come into a bar, with no money, and decide to order a beer, that you don’t even like, anyway?”

  
Luffy shrugged once more. Zoro considered that he should add shoulder rolls to his work-out warm up. 

  
Glancing around the empty dive bar, he weighed his options. It was mid afternoon on a Monday – Too late for lunch, and too early for dinner. As the only person working other than Johnny (the cook), he was technically in charge, and he couldn’t pawn the brat off on a superior. Not that he was too busy to deal with it, that is. Chances were that he wasn’t going to get any other customers until the late night hospitality staff rolled in, anyway. Shakky’s wasn’t overly popular among anyone other than those who worked in the food and drink industry, as the often extended last call and cheap drinks brought them in like moths to a flame. As for the rest of the day, they would get the odd couple here and there, but for the most part, well, crickets. Something about ‘poor service’, as his manager had put it. 

  
Luffy was struggling through another sip of beer, squirming as the hoppy bitterness assaulted his mouth. 

  
Zoro watched the display with an even expression before turning on his heel and stepping into the kitchen. He waved to the man beside the grill and called for a burger. 

  
He wasn’t sure what brought him to do it. Maybe it was the kid’s big brown eyes, or his ugly yellow hat, or the way he smiled with all his teeth. Maybe it was the confidence he radiated, or the courage that he had to possess to enter a shady bar alone on his 19th birthday.

Maybe it was Kuina.

  
His childhood friend had had big dreams. She would spent most of her time at her father’s sword dojo that Zoro had also frequented. They had become instant rivals through a shared goal, though she managed to brutally kick his ass each and every time they would spar. They had both wanted to become the greatest swordsman in all of Eastern Canada, then all of Canada, and then North America, and then eventually, the world. 

  
“I’m the one who should be crying out of frustration,” She had sighed, sitting on the steps of the dojo as Zoro, young and inexperienced, had sniveled next to her. He had challenged her once again, and had predictably been defeated. 

  
“When girls grow up, they get weaker than men,” Her shoulders had slumped forward as she spoke, “You’re lucky, Zoro. I want to be the world’s greatest swordsman, too. If only I had been born a man.”

  
The words had sent him into a rage. 

  
“Don’t be whining like that after you beat me! That’s not fair! _You’re_ my goal!” He had shouted, getting up in her face, “Promise me! Someday, one of us will be the world’s greatest swordsman! We’ll compete to see who gets there!”

  
“You dummy, you’re so weak,” She had smiled through her tears, “It’s a promise.”

  
He would never forget their last exchange. 

  
She had died the very next day. She had fallen down the dojo stairs and broken her neck. There had been no pain. 

  
Thanks to her, Zoro never judged anybody on things that were out of their control. He believed that the strong would make the most of their situation, regardless of how they ended up where they were, and valued their character over anything else. 

  
He didn’t know Luffy well. Hell, he didn’t know Luffy at all, but he admired the boy’s audacity to try, regardless of how he had ended up in a bar with no money. He didn’t know what had happened before he walked through those doors, and something about the kid lured him in. 

  
He couldn’t even remember the last time he had willingly given a customer his name.

  
Johnny placed a burger, with all the fixings and a hearty helping of french fries, on a heated plate, and with a grunted, “Thanks,” he returned to the bar. He noticed that no other strays had wandered into the restaurant as he placed the food in front of the teen at the counter. Luffy was practically drooling, dark eyes bugging out of his head as he eyed the patty. 

  
“It’s on me,” Zoro rumbled, stepping back and leaning against the shelves of various alcohols behind him.

  
“Wow, thanks Zoro! You’re cool,” He snickered a laugh that would be imprinted in the bartender’s mind as the most mischievous sound in the world. 

  
It was that moment that he decided, _fuck it_ , he liked the kid. 

  
“What brings you in here with no money, alone, on your birthday?” He asked, giving into the urge to learn more about the stranger. It wasn’t like he had anything else to do. The shelves were stocked and the glasses were polished. If anything, a conversation could pass the time until the lackluster dinner rush.

  
Luffy spoke with his mouth full of food, “I’m new in town. Just got off the bus.” He stuffed a handful of fries between his lips.

  
Zoro hummed in amusement as he watched his company wolf down the meal. Johnny made a mean burger. “Where from?”

  
Swallowing, Luffy licked his lips before flashing the bartender another breathtaking smile, “Does it matter?”

  
“Nah,” Zoro found himself grinning, pouring the boy another beer – a lighter one, less bitter – as the latter downed the rest of his, making a face as he placed the glass on the counter. The stream of beer from the tap sputtered and tapered out before the glass was full. Damn, he needed to change the keg. 

  
Gesturing that he would be right back, he made for the fridge in the back of the restaurant. Hauling a heavy keg right over his shoulder as if it were a sack of potatoes, he brought it back to the front of the bar, wedging it beneath the faucets and tapping it to the appropriate beer line. 

  
“Wow! Zoro is really strong!” Luffy gasped, those damn eyes shining like stars in the midnight sky as he watched Zoro finish pouring him his drink, “You should be my friend.”

  
“Yeah?” The bartender snorted, “And what would being your friend consist of?”

  
The shoulders of the red sweater moved upwards for the third time, “Adventures and snacks and video games?”

  
“Do I even want to know what sort of adventures you mean?” He hated to admit it, but he was enjoying their easy banter.

  
Luffy seemed to like the second beer better than the first. It was slightly more expensive, but it didn’t matter much to Zoro. He worked five days a week for a decent wage, plus tips, and typically lived on the bare necessities. He could afford to treat a customer from time to time. 

  
“Apartment hunting will be our first adventure!” The teen declared, licking his fingers as he cleared the plate.

  
“How will you find an apartment with no money?”

  
Luffy beamed up at him from across the counter, the confidence radiating off of him like the sun’s warm rays. 

  
Zoro knew the words that were about to roll off his tongue were illogical, insane even. Nevertheless…

  
“I’ve got room for you.”

  
His teeth were so straight.

  
“Can you hang tight ‘til 3am?” Zoro asked, “You can come home with me.”

  
He didn’t think it was possible, but he could swear the kid’s smile got even wider. 

  
He snickered that signature sound, “Sure, as long as Zoro is here, I’m here.” 

***

Hours later, a rusty key was turning in an old lock, and the door to his apartment creaked open ominously. Zoro chuckled, shooting a glance over his shoulder, and expecting to see a flash of regret across Luffy’s face.

  
The teen stared up at him excitedly, unassuming and completely at ease.

  
Zoro was mildly disappointed that he didn’t get a reaction out of the kid, so he added, “Hope you’re not afraid of ghosts,” before he stepped into the dark unit.

  
He should have expected the exhilarated gasp, wide eyes filled with wonder, and zero trace of fear.

  
Flipping the light switch into the ‘on’ position, Zoro shrugged off his light jacket as Luffy raced into the room, launching himself into the leather couch with a hearty, “YAHOO!”

  
The apartment was in a heritage building, thus the old brick exterior and ancient stain glass windows that dotted the second floor. However, the interior had been newly renovated into a trendy loft style two bedroom apartment in the heart of downtown Toronto. Some of the walls were exposed red brick, while the rest of the drywall was painted a crisp, pale grey. The ceilings were high and concrete, adding a modern industrial atmosphere. A leather couch and love seat sat facing a large television in the corner of the living room, a simple charcoal rug and wooden coffee table in between. The kitchen was fully furnished, though Zoro rarely used many of the appliances, often choosing instead to order in after exercising with the workout equipment that sat in the empty space beneath the stairs. He absently hoped that Luffy would befriend a cook, or something.

  
Letting his new roommate lead the way, Zoro followed Luffy up the ironwood stairs, listening to him ramble on.

  
“Zoro likes to keep it simple, eh? You must work out a lot, you have a lot of weights. No wonder Zoro is so strong. Oh, your bed looks so comfy! And the sheets are green, like your hair! Man, is this my room?!” The kid was no longer interested in Zoro’s slightly larger bedroom, and had booked it into the mostly furnished room that shared the right wall. Zoro didn’t blame him, for there was not much décor in his room, save for a handful of martial arts and swordsmanship trophies.

  
“Yup, old roommate moved out a couple of days ago. I was gonna post an ad when I got home tonight. You had good timin’,” He leaned against the door frame, watching Luffy flop onto the bare mattress. His new nook was already equipped with a bed, a desk and chair, and a dresser. Zoro doubted the kid had anything more than whatever was in the black backpack he carried, but that wasn’t his business.

  
“What were they like?” Luffy was smiling up at the ceiling.

  
“Young, a damn prodigy or somethin’,” Zoro answered, “He finished his bachelor in medicine at the university. Moved home at the end of the semester.” He would never admit it, but was going to miss Chopper. Over the four years they had spent living together, Zoro had become a sort of big brother figure to the seventeen year old. He would miss him.

  
“Seems like you liked him,” Luffy’s eyes gazed sympathetically at the handsome bartender in the doorway. 

  
“Yeah,” Zoro grumbled, “He was a good kid.”

  
Then, deciding that it was four in the morning and he needed to get some sleep if he was to be back at the bar for his shift at noon, he grunted, “Ya need anythin’ else, Luf?”

  
Zoro didn’t even need to look at him to hear that stupid smile in his voice, though he did, because his eyes just couldn’t seem to get enough of the nineteen year old laying across the bed.

  
“Just your number, Zor-o.”

  
With a smirk, Zoro stepped forward, tugging his cell phone out of his pocket, opening a new contact and passing it to Luffy, who sat upright and did the same with his phone, trading it with Zoro’s. They exchanged numbers, Zoro looming over the man seated beneath him. Up close, he could see just how dark the raven strands that jutted from beneath the yellow cap were, how they looked sleek and smooth in the light of the ceiling fixture. 

  
Luffy handed Zoro his phone back, and something tugged at the latter’s heart as their fingers brushed. The teen stared up at his roommate, the corners of his deep eyes wrinkling as his grin stretched wide. His skin looked so soft, and his lips, although thin and chapped, seemed to be begging Zoro to kiss him, _daring_ him.

  
So Zoro did it. 

  
He dropped to his knees, so he was closer to being level with Luffy’s face as he sat on the edge of the bed. He gently cupped the man’s chin and peered into the deep depths of his welcoming eyes, searching for disgust, for judgment.   
All he found was a quiet excitement as Luffy leaned into his touch.

  
Their lips met in a brief embrace, a chaste kiss that sent Zoro’s blood rushing to his face. He meant to pull away then, to keep it at that, to say goodnight and head to bed, but it seemed his roommate had other plans. 

  
Luffy tugged him back in. There was affection leaking from his actions and Zoro was willing to accept it, to lap it up. He placed one of his calloused hands on the other man’s thigh, pushing into the kiss as he tilted his head to the side and deftly tongued at Luffy’s lower lip. 

  
Luffy let him in, slowly leaning back against the mattress as Zoro climbed onto the bed. Their lips fit together as if they had been sculpted with the other’s in mind, and Zoro decided that he would be happy to kiss the younger man forever. He tasted faintly of beer, with a hint of salt, and he wasn’t sure how to define it, but he felt as though he was drinking from the world’s cleanest stream. 

  
As expected, the teen’s skin was obscenely soft and warm beneath the bartender’s hand as he pawed at the chest covered by the red sweater. He felt the muscles under the fabric, tight and sinewy, packing an unexpected amount of strength into Luffy’s skinny frame. He reached up to his roommate’s baseball cap and tore it off his head, aching to run his fingers into the raven tresses. 

  
Though, Luffy detached himself at that moment with a playful frown, “Hey, don’t touch my hat! Shanks gave it to me!”

  
Zoro blinked, “Who’s Shanks?”

  
He ignored the question, “Yo, Zoro, do you always kiss your roommates?”

  
Feeling the heat paint his face an embarrassing tomato red, the older man huffed, crossing his arms across his chest and standing from the bed. He paused in the doorway before flicking the light off to an exclamation of “Hey!” and chuckled, “G’night Luf.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Angst with a fluffy ending! TRIGGER WARNING!!!!!! Mentions of depression, medication, and suicide.

The following six months launched Zoro into a perfect whirlwind as Luffy wound himself into the former’s life however possible. 

  
Johnny had gotten the kid a job at his brother, Yosaku's, produce stall, which was conveniently located around the block from Shakky’s. Most days they would walk to work together, hand in hand, while Luffy rambled on about the show he had watched when he had gotten home from his shift, or the new restaurant he wanted to try. He always had that dumb smile on his face, and those stars in his eyes. 

  
Every now and then, he would met another stray, bringing them to the bar as Zoro closed up, and the two of them would brainstorm how to help Luffy’s new friend. The first one had been a young woman with red hair, the second a black haired teen with a peculiar long nose. They ended up back on their feet with Luffy’s selfless assistance, and slowly their friend group began to grow as their twosome grew to a threesome, then a foursome, until they had a usual squad of roughly ten people. 

  
They would often host get-togethers at their apartment, drinking and dancing, and eating the (unfortunately) delicious food from the aggravating, arrogant cook that had stumbled into their lives at one point. Zoro remembered wishing Luffy would find them a friend who knew his way around food, and my gods, did he ever regret thinking that. 

  
Despite the warm welcome that Luffy bestowed upon every new friend, Zoro never felt jealous. He understood the effect that his boyfriend had on people, how he could draw them in and turn their grey world into a rainbow of vivid hues, lit solely by his sunny smile. It was impossible to not want to be in his presence when he looked at you with those excitable eyes and stoked the smoldering coals in your stomach that you had thought died out long ago. 

  
He was always happy, always laughing, and it made others feel as though it was okay to smile and laugh, too. His easy going manner reminded everyone that it was always easier to smile than to frown, to appreciate the good while letting the bad roll off you like water off a duck’s back.

  
Luffy was not one to use a lot of words, though words were never necessary. The way he smiled at you, snickered his signature laugh, and crinkled his eyes… Zoro then understood how a cat must feel while basking in a warm ray of sunshine. 

  
He had fallen fast, and he had fallen hard, and in the past, these two facts may have terrified the outwardly stoic man.

  
Though, with Luffy, everything seemed okay. He had a job, and an apartment, and a large group of eccentric friends and a wonderful boyfriend. What more could Zoro possibly ask for? Everything was perfect.

  
At least, everything had seemed perfect, until he found the pills.

  
Zoro hadn’t meant to snoop. He swore, it was an accident. He had simply been folding the laundry (About time too, it had been piling up for days) and had stepped into Luffy’s room to put away the kid’s clothes. He was just going to be in and out, and since the room had been reduced to a storage closet with a computer (Luffy typically preferred to sleep in Zoro’s bed), he hadn’t considered it much of a privacy breach. 

  
Yet, he had seen the prescription pills on the dresser, and when he turned on his heel to exit the room immediately, he was met with his lover in the doorway.

  
Luffy was quiet, a haunting distance in his dark eyes, and a small frown on his face.

  
“Luffy, I’m sorry, I didn’t… I didn’t know… I mean, I thought it would be fine if I…” Zoro stumbled over the words, unsure of what to say. Did he ask what the medication was for? Did he want to know? Would that be prying into the past that Luffy had always slyly avoided talking about?

  
Tilting his head slightly to the side, the younger man sighed, making his way to the hardly-touched bed, and sitting down on the edge.   
He was quiet, staring at his hands for a while, and Zoro felt his blood run cold. Had he colossally messed up?

  
“They’re antidepressants,” Luffy murmured, breaking the silence. 

  
When Zoro didn’t respond, he looked up with a panicked expression to ensure the other man had not left. Realizing that his boyfriend needed him to be present for the conversation that would surely be following, Zoro knelt in front of him, making sure their eyes were level. It was not unlike the night they had first met. 

  
“D’ya want to talk about it?” Zoro offered, and the other man nodded. It was a heavy action, and it made Zoro’s heart ache. Where was his sunshine? What had happened to him? Who dared obscure him beneath a thick, grey cloud?

  
“I ran away from home, you know, the day we met,” Luffy started, his voice uncharacteristically small, “My… My brother…”

  
He paused to take a deep breath, “Okay. Okay, I can do this.”

  
“I, um, I grew up with my two adopted brothers, and we were raised by my grandpa, ‘cause my father wasn’t around,” Speaking with his hands, he continued. Zoro wondered if he was talking animatedly to hide the fact that his fingers were trembling. 

  
“Two years ago, I watched my brother die. I… He was in my arms… and he died,” The tears were dotting the corners of his eyes and he broke eye contact to stare at the wall behind Zoro, “It was my first big experience with loss and I didn’t know how to manage it. I was so sad, all the time. No one ever wanted to be around me, because I was so sad. Sad, and so alone. All I could do for two years was sit around and be sad. Eventually, the sadness became emptiness, and I started to feel so numb.”

  
“My grandpa took me to a doctor the day I ran away. They prescribed me these. Said something about ‘Major Depressive Disorder’, or whatever,” Luffy pinched the bridge of his nose as he squeezed his eyes shut. Zoro knew this couldn’t be easy to talk about. The younger man continued, “But, I didn’t want to take them. I didn’t want to _be_ anymore. Nothing felt right without Ace around and it just felt so wrong existing when it should have been me instead.”

  
Zoro’s blood ran cold. No. No. No, he couldn’t be talking about…

  
No.

  
Luffy seemed to notice his reaction, as he chose his next words carefully, “I knew I had two options, and I didn’t want to, well, _you know_ , so I decided I wanted a fresh start instead. I figured if I had a reason to start taking the pills, then I would. So, I packed a bag, borrowed some money from Uncle Shanks, and jumped on a bus. I ended up here, at the bus station two blocks away from Shakky’s. Then, I met you.”

  
“So, you’ve been taking these for how long?” Zoro was trying to digest all he had just learned. 

  
“Six months.”

  
“But, you…” He stumbled over the words. It didn’t compute. How could his ray of sunshine be diagnosed with depression? Had he been suffering all this time and he, his own boyfriend, had never noticed? Had he been selfish to revel in his warmth when he had felt so very cold? He breathed, “You seem so happy, all the time.”

  
Luffy smiled, and Zoro watched how, despite the sorrow of the moment, it still reached his eyes and made them crinkle. “I am happy, sometimes. Our friends help. You help.”

  
“Do the pills help?”

  
As the teen shrugged, he noticed that his lover was also wearing the same red hoodie and yellow cap. It was an interesting juxtaposition – two eerily similar scenes, with two drastically different moods. 

  
“They take away the emptiness, but I still feel sad,” He admitted, “But I don’t mind the sadness as much anymore. It’s better than feeling nothing all the time. And, I like to think that if I’m capable of feeling sad, it also makes me capable of feeling happy.”

  
“Luffy,” Zoro’s voice was stern as he stared into Luffy’s soul via his big brown eyes, “Why do you act so happy even when you’re sad?”

  
Luffy frowned, his brow furrowed in thought. He made a soft, “ _Huh_ ,” as if realizing something for the first time, before offering, “No one wants to hang out with someone sad, and I don’t want to be alone again. I don’t want to feel the things I feel when it’s just me. So if I act happy all the time, and put my efforts into making other people happy, then we can all be together.”

  
Zoro shook his head, his expression hard and unreadable. He reached out with both hands and placed them on either side of the kid’s head. “Listen to me, Luf,” He rumbled, serious as ever, “That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard.”

  
Luffy’s mouth fell open in confusion, “What?”

  
“We’re your friends, right? We care about you, all of us, and that means we care about your mental health too. If you’re sad, be sad. If you’re happy, be happy. That’s not going to scare us off or make us not want to spend time with you,” He stated, narrowing his eyes as he predicted the following _but what if they do,_ “And if someone has a problem with it, they aren’t a real friend anyway. And if every single one of the loveable idiots we call our friends decides they don’t have the time of day to try and cheer you up like you’ve cheered all of us up the last six months, then fuck ‘em, ‘cause you know what? You’ll always have me.”

  
Luffy was speechless, tears having dried and anxious breathing having slowed to a normal pace.

  
“Doesn’t matter if you’re sad, or angry, or happy, or horny. I’ll love you, anyway. I know I can’t just magically take your depression away, but I can hold your hand and kiss you and be there for you, however you are. Don’t hide yourself from me, Luffy,” He finished, gently rubbing circles into Luffy’s temples with his thumbs.

  
“Zoro loves me?” The sparkle had returned to his eyes, and the corners of his lips twitched into a tiny smile.

  
“Yeah, I love you, ya goof,” He chuckled, leaning forward like the very first day they had spent together, sealing his words with a kiss.   
His lover snickered through the kiss, giggling when Zoro nipped at his lips and growled playfully. Luffy snaked his hands beneath the other man’s arms and practically hauled him onto the bed, adjusting them with surprising speed so that the former sat upon the latter’s waist, straddling him. Leaning forward, Luffy brushed his fingers through his boyfriend’s cropped green hair. It never failed to surprise him just how soft it was. 

  
Lowering his lips to Zoro’s, Luffy chirped, “I love you, too, Zor-o,” before occupying his mouth with his. They rolled around on the bed that the teen hardly used, kicking up blankets and squishing pillows beneath them as they laughed, and kissed and cuddled. 

  
The grin that split across Luffy’s flushed face was more dazzling than any burning star that Zoro had ever seen, and he smiled in return. His ray of sunshine was so much more than that. He was the sun, the warmth that kept him inspired and kept him motivated, the light that glinted off his swords in the dojo, the source of the blinding amount of adoration in his heart that he didn’t fully understand how to express. 

  
However, he was also the moon, deep and misunderstood, thoughtful and caring, soft and vulnerable. The bright side of the moon, obscuring its dark side from those it loved, and Zoro relished in the new understanding he had of the man on top of him. 

  
It was the sunny side of Luffy who had taught him to look at the silver linings, and he put that advice into play. Instead of berating himself with wondering how he hadn’t been able to see it before, he mentally thanked the teen for trusting him with such personal information, for giving himself to Zoro and opening himself up to the help he could offer.

  
Thus, from that day forward, Zoro never felt guilty for the days Luffy was sad, and instead focused on increasing the number of days that Luffy was happy. The teen continued to take his meds, and talk openly about his day to day emotions with his partner. Eventually, he opened up about his struggle with his mental health and past trauma to their friends, and, surprising nobody but the kid himself, everyone had been more than supportive. 

  
Even the stupid cook had expressed his friendship by immediately cooking up a heap of Luffy’s favourite food – assorted meat. 

  
Luffy stopped hiding. He frowned when he wanted to frown, and smiled when he wanted to smile. He said “no” when he didn’t want something, and started to ask for what he _did_ want. He stopped focusing on what would happen if he was just _himself_ , instead of _who he thought other people wanted him to be_. He made friends everywhere they went, and began to understand that saying “goodbye”, meant “see you again”, that parting once didn’t mean forever. He bloomed like a flower fed by the sun, which was truly the perfect simile, for he himself was the sun, and he allowed himself to grow. Zoro was simply the rain, supporting the development of the plant. 

  
Then, one day, as they laid in bed side by side, Luffy started to snicker as he stared up at the ceiling. It was his signature sound, but something was a little off. When Zoro turned his head to the side, he saw a trail of tears pooling onto the pillow. 

  
“Luffy,” Zoro jumped into action immediately, sitting up and leaning over the other man’s frame, “What’s wrong?”

  
He was smiling.

  
“Nothing, Zor-o. I’m just really happy.”


End file.
